Alpha settles over Clean Water Act complaints

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The largest coal producer in West Virginia has agreed to pay $27.5 million in civil penalties to the federal government and spend $200 million to comply with its discharge permits as part of the Clean Water Act.

The consent decree settles a complaint made by the federal EPA and state agencies against Alpha Natural Resources in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania that it was discharging more from its mining operations into the water supply that it was allowed to do.

Investigators said that between 2006 and 2013 Alpha violated water pollution limits 6,000 times.

In its release announcing the settlement, Alpha said the complaint did not allege “the exceedances posed a risk to human health.”

Alpha has agreed to implement an environmental management system and install treatment facilities at specific locations.

“This consent decree provides a framework for our efforts to become fully compliant with our environmental permits, specifically under the Clean Water Act,” Alpha Senior Vice President of Environmental Affairs Gene Kitts said in Alpha’s prepared release. “Our combined total water quality compliance rate for 2013 was 99.8 percent. That’s a strong record of compliance, particularly considering it’s based on more than 665,000 chances to miss a daily or monthly average limit. But our goal is to do even better, and the consent decree provides an opportunity to proactively focus on improving on the less than 1 percent of the time that permit limits were exceeded.”

MetroNews Staff

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Comments

WV4ever

How stupid the comments are trying to blame this on President Obama and EPA. If it wasn't for them we would water everywhere but not a drop to drink. I say to you clean earth haters, you go somewhere else to destroy the earth and water and leave our beautiful state alone.

March 7, 2014 at 11:53 am |

rick

What ...no one outraged that the coal company poisoned our water for years? This is why they don't get permits.

March 6, 2014 at 1:50 pm |

Shadow

More of the War on Coal by the Obummers! Where are they on Benghazi disaster and the IRS scandal?

March 6, 2014 at 12:10 pm |

Bigfish

Benghazi is overblown and there was no irs scandal and the war on coal? Look at today's stories regarding alpha's violations what a terrible record. Wv's people shouldn't have to put up with this.

March 6, 2014 at 12:22 pm |

Jerry_D

Benghazi is overblown?!?! Four Americans where murdered that night by Muslim extremists while they pleaded for help from our government.

And if you don't like the economy of WV, then I would like to remind you that no one is keeping you here "while we pollute the water" as you hippie types scream at every chance you get.

March 6, 2014 at 9:06 pm |

Shadow

Aaah, the Obummer Kool Aid is sweet and wonderful. But the after taste?